Health snubbed in Busan plastic negotiations, artists and scientists unite to have it included
Prigi Arisandi, a biologist turned artist, holds his art at the INC-5 in Busan, South Korea.
What you need to know:
- Out of the 16,000 chemicals used to make plastic, at least 4,000 of those chemicals are harmful to human and environmental health, according to a report released in March this year by the Plastic Pollution Coalition.
In Busan, South Korea
It was at Changi Airport in Singapore that Prigi Arisandi’s luggage first raised eyebrows at the security checks.
In his carry-on bag, he had three reusable plastic containers simulating a mother’s womb. Prigi is a biologist turned artist who is on a mission to raise awareness of the impact that plastic pollution has on human health. Inside the plastic containers, are baby dolls sitting pretty as babies would in a womb. The dolls, however, are choked with multi-coloured models of micro plastics.
“They thought they were real babies,” he tells the Nation in an interview.
All the way from Indonesia, Prigi is attending the fifth session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC-5) that aims to come up with a global treaty that will end plastic pollution on land and in the marine environment.
“I live close to the river and my grandparents are fishermen. Our lives depend on the river. When it is polluted, our culture gets diluted,” he says.
“I want my daughter to feel what we felt growing up: swim in the river and see the fish swimming. I will fight for a clean river. That is why I am using art to stop river pollution,” he adds.
His art shows the linkage between plastic pollution and health and in a side event organised by the United Kingdom’s University of Portsmouth, he joined other artists from around the world to discuss how art can support effective policies on plastic pollution.
Health, however, remains a snubbed topic in the negotiations.
On Friday evening, the first draft (called a non-paper) that will guide the final outcome of the negotiations was released by the chair of the INC with health having insignificant details.
With just one day remaining before the negotiations wrap up, scientists and global plastics campaigners attending the Busan plastics meeting insist that health must find space in the treaty.
In an interview with the Nation, Jane Muncke, a South African independent scientist working with Food Packaging Forum and is part of the Scientists Coalition, said that plastic pollution affects human health across the entire life stages of plastics: from extraction through use to end of life, disposal and open burning.
“It's simply immoral to expose people to known toxic chemicals that leach out of plastic. Plastic is not an inert material, chemicals leach out and we have a responsibility as human beings alive right now to protect the health of future generations of unborn humans who have a right to enjoy a good quality of life on this planet,” she said.
Jane explains that when we put food or drinks in contact with plastic, the chemicals from plastic seep out and some of them are toxic to the human body.
Out of the 16,000 chemicals used to make plastic, at least 4,000 of those chemicals are harmful to human and environmental health, according to a report released in March this year by the Plastic Pollution Coalition.
“We also know that the normal and intended use of plastic packaging can make micro plastics, which fall into the food and drink and they probably can get into the human body. There's some indication that micro plastics can damage the immune system health, that they can damage fertility and change the DNA,” explained Jane.
She says that other known impacts of micro plastics on human health include declining sperm counts, causing bad sperm quality, cognitive development impairment in children, immune system disorders, obesity, diabetes, thyroid issues, declining Intelligent Quotients (IQs).
Jane’s resounding message to the delegations from over 170 countries is that the treaty makers must include independent scientists who have done research on plastic and health for sound advice.
“You cannot have the criminals making the rules in prison, right? We need to have independent scientists who will, without conflict of interest, assess the state of the science and then advise policymakers on what to do. It cannot be that the plastic industry is advising on matters of science; that's just not appropriate,” she said.
International Pollutants Elimination Network (IPEN), which brings together voices of over 600 civil society, reiterated in a press briefing on Friday evening that the health impacts of plastic chemicals continue to get a back burner when plastic production projections keep soaring.
“We are enmeshed in a sea of brackets, disagreements, and obstructions perpetuated by a handful of countries representing vested interests of fossil fuel, chemical, and plastics corporations,” they said.
IPEN was worried that the text still holds no water because brackets in negotiations mean that the issue has not been ironed out by delegates in the negotiation rooms.
“We call on the moral and ethical leadership of all INC delegates. The world is watching. We expect you to make wise decisions and to deliver a robust and health-protective treaty that drastically reduces the production of plastics, eliminates harm from toxic plastic chemicals, and is based on a foundation of protecting health and human rights,” they warned.
In 2022, a review by the World Health Organization (WHO) had not conclusively linked microplastics to any health impacts, especially cancer, except for specific chemicals that the global health authority mentions that results in negligible change in tissue concentration.
In a draft paper released on November 1, the WHO told its member states that more studies continue to show evidence of the effect of plastics on human health.
“To achieve the treaty’s objective of protecting the environment and human health from plastic pollution, it is essential to recognise that human and environmental health are interconnected, which calls for integrated solutions and calls for the application of a ‘One health’ approach in the treaty to support coherent and harmonised strategies and to improve public health, environmental and sustainable development outcomes,” recommended the WHO.
